A Role to Play
by MetricMachine
Summary: Emmy felt her days were numbered. It was only a matter of time before her mask tears away and they'll know what she truly was: a traitor. All that she wondered was when, and if she could delay the inevitable. A canon divergence AU that focuses more on Emmy with espionage tones.
1. Chapter 1

Today was meant to be her day off. Emmy was supposed to rest and pack up for an important journey. Another professor by the name of Desmond Sycamore had requested Layton's assistance in what was supposed to be the biggest discovery to date: a living mummy. Her better senses told her that the idea sounded preposterous, but the way her superior reacted made her think differently.

She sighed as she listened to her debriefing.

"Emmeline, you do realize how close we are to uncovering the secrets to the Azran?" a middle aged man questioned her.

"From what I understand, it's just a turned stone away, sir," she answered.

"Yes! If not for you lifting some of the details off of my son, we wouldn't have come this far. And with how close you've gotten, you've even managed to get information from the rest of the archeological team at Gressenheller! A most impressive feat," he continued, scratching his pet ferret's ear.

The remark left a pang of guilt, one among many that she's swallowed down for her job.

"It's just as you've said, Uncle Bronev. No one has suspected a thing yet."

"Well. Enough flattery. Now I want to go over exactly how this trip entails. One factor you should know is about is about your new acquaintance."

"Professor Sycamore?"

"Yes, him. I have plenty of reasons to think that he and that theatrical fellow, Descole are one in the same. Especially with our recent run in with him."

She seemed astonished. "But wouldn't that mean he's your—"

"My boastful, idiot son? Yes. Without a doubt." Bronev rubbed at a temple with his fingers. "I can think of no one else that would be responsible other than he, as he has been quite familiar with our security and was the cause of our latest breach.."

"I've heard about that. I'll be sure to keep my eyes peeled in case he tries anything else suspicious."

"This leads me to my next statement: Because he's now working with Hershel, my best bet is that he's planning to get to the Azran before us. I need you to intercept him. Furthermore, if the mission is compromised, you realize what you must do… right?"

Emmy bit her bottom lip at the thought. "I… am to use whatever means necessary for the cause. The Azran must be found at all cost."

He gave a satisfied smile before sliding a file her way. "Good girl. I have no doubt you'll be able to do this much. Enclosed is the proposed location of this 'living mummy', your stipend, and details of your recon."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "But if I heard from the others, you were planning to mobilize our forces to this location and take said living mummy. What would I be needed for?"

"Do you think all we really need is the mummy? And our military to muscle wherever we please? If our research is correct, we'll never go far without these… powered databanks. Which I believe these professors would lead us straight to them."

"Right…"

"All you need to do is continue to monitor them. And should we cross paths, pretend that we're enemies. Just… don't rough up the boys too much like before, alright?"

Memories of her earlier years came to mind; when she began working for Layton. She remembered returning back some nights, guilt-ridden and frustrated with her recon work—which she used to take out said frustrations with martial arts practice. Her face flushed pink in mild embarrassment.

"Sorry, I'll be sure not to repeat those sparring matches."

"Dismissed. I'll be seeing you later."

Emmy gave a small salute before leaving his office.

It was a long walk out of their temporary headquarters and was and even longer drive home. She arrived at her flat and walked over to couch to flop down on it. It exhausted her, trying to keep her emotions neutral. That task became harder as of recent—not that the notion was surprising. She submitted to the ideas of guilt and woe the moment she had a chance to see to see her savior again.

Hah, _her_ savior. She ran a hand through her wild mane of hair to calm herself. As if she deserved to meet him at this point, let alone refer to him as if he was her friend. The man selflessly saved her from jail time, and as repayment later in time, she stole his research and spied on him. She couldn't think to call herself a lady as he did.

What surprised her the most was that despite how she forced herself into his life, he never once seemed suspicious of her. Or if he did, those thoughts have then passed and he seemed to trust her as if she was an old friend. Why hasn't he found out yet? Why did he never confront her? He normally had a knack for pointing out the outlier in each case he's solved. How could he have _not_ found out about what has been happening for about three years now?

Or maybe he already knew, and he's only waiting out to see what might be her next move? Maybe this trip would be his chance to corner her and finally—

A phone ring shocked her out of her paranoia. She took a moment to breathe before answering the call.

"H-Hello? Altava's residence."

"Ah, Emmy there you are!" a jarringly familiar voice answered.

"Professor! Hey, uh… how's it going?" she stuttered.

Why now? Did he _know_ she was thinking of him?

"Quite well, we've just finished packing. I've been trying to get in touch with you the last— wait, are you alright? You sound quite frazzled."

"I'm fine! Just got home from a huge traffic jam. You know…"

"So sorry… I didn't mean to call you at such a late hour while you're exhausted, but I wanted to offer a ride at 8AM tomorrow morning. I'd rather you not waste the gas for such a short distance."

"Oh! Ahah… Yeah, sure. I'd like that a lot. Thank you," she held in her sigh of relief.

"Of course. Get plenty of rest, alright? We have quite the journey ahead of us, starting tomorrow."

"Will do. See ya tomorrow, professor."

"Good night, Emmy. See you tomorrow."

Emmy allowed the buzzing sound of the dial tone linger for a minute or so before placing the phone back on its receiver. How did he get her number anyway? She smacked her forehead upon realization. Duh, she gave it to him a while back so he'd call whenever he needed her. Although, now that she had the time to think, she never did receive a call from him until just now. Rarely did he ever have any urgency to call upon her.

There must be a reason behind it. Though he could also be looking out for her. She must be overthinking it.

"Get it together Emmy. If he _doesn't_ know, he's going to think you're suspicious."

She decided to end the night with a much needed shower before bed. It was too late for guilt and sorrow of what will be. She knew all of that awaited her from the very beginning. So why did it hurt so much?

—

Somehow sleep managed to grace her, despite her panicked state the previous evening. However, she didn't spend as much time packing the day before. So when the good professor arrived, she lagged behind and apologized profusely as she did. Layton didn't seem to mind it at all. In fact, he smiled at her.

"I understand. You sounded quite tired yesterday. I'm sure Professor Sycamore wouldn't mind if we were a little late."

That wasn't fair! It wasn't fair at all! Why did he have the patience of a saint? He could at least _sound_ a bit frustrated. The very fact he didn't bothered her for. She did her best to qualm all of her thoughts as she placed the last of her things in her luggage. She was not going to break down now.

"Hey Emmy!" a young voice chimed out.

She smiled as she placed her things away in the trunk. "Hi, Luke. Surprised you're up this early, considering it sometimes takes ten alarm clocks to wake you up."

"You're one to talk! I thought the professor said for eight! Unless he caught you with your monster bed head and penguin slippers," he grinned cheekily.

Emmy poked out her tongue as she made her way to the passenger seat. "Then I guess I must be seeing things and you _don't_ still have breakfast crumbs all over your face."

"Huh!?"

She chuckled upon seeing him vigorously wiping his face. At the very least, Luke didn't seem too wary of her at all. There was a bit of comfort to take in that.

Layton did his best not to smile at the two of them. "Alright now, settle down you two. We're a bit behind schedule, so we'll have to get a move on."

"Would you rather I drive? I'm sure I can skirt through some shortcuts—"

"N-no!" Luke yelled out.

The two adults suddenly turned to him, astonished.

"I… I mean, I'm sure the professor can get there just fine, ahaha…"

Layton gave Luke a discouraged frown before flashing her an apologetic look. "It's quite alright, I'll drive."

Sometime later after their drive, they arrived at the air base without a single hitch. They walked through the crowds of men—presumably workers that were loading luggage and supplies onto the large airship in the center of the runway—to approach the stairway up into the ship. After handing off their luggage, Luke was the first to trot up the stair as he spoke.

"Hey, Professor? Do you really think that it's possible that he's found a living mummy?" he asked as he looked over the letter that was sent over to Layton for his presence.

Emmy answered in his stead. "Well, I've heard that Professor Sycamore is the authority on the excavation of ancient ruins. He wouldn't just make it up, would he?"

That much she was sure of. She knew from hearsay that Professor Sycamore, or that is, Descole had the largest fit after realizing his documentations on this discovery was poached. He took it upon himself to run into a crowd of armed men, vaulting over their heads and dodging a rain of bullets to reach Bronev at the end. Which the entire scene ended abruptly in one fell swoop when Bronev took him down, bare-handed.

She almost felt sorry for him. …Almost.

Hershel's voice brought her from her thoughts. "Certainly not. It is most curious, but we'll just have to see."

His face seemed thoughtful and distant. She looked to him, wondering if his mind was truly on the case at hand. If not, then what…?

"What do you think he means though? I hope it's not cursed!"

Emmy gave him best smile she could muster. "Don't worry Luke! I'll protect you!"

She could only wonder how long her friendship and the mask she wore would truly last.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you guys very much for the reviews! They're very much appreciated! The following chapter pretty much goes by the game, minus and plus a few things. I hope you enjoy regardless!

* * *

Upon boarding the vessel, they met an older gentleman by the name of "Raymond". After a quick verification test, Layton pinpointed their destination to be Froenborg. _Honestly, anyone could say they were the Professor when solving a puzzle_ , Emmy thought to herself. Though she supposed the old man was quite aware and only followed orders. It made her wonder…

"Why is he saddled with taking orders from that so-and-so? Does he not know what near permanent damage this guy's done?" she muttered.

She supposed she had no room to talk. Whatever falling out Descole had with reality, she was sure that Uncle Bronev suffered the same way. Perhaps they were both alike, both serving as means to an end because of how much they cared for and owed to them. Whatever the case, it was best not to think about it too much.

Emmy stared out the window vacantly, watching rolling hills of green slowly turning white and snowy. A hand made its way on her shoulder and she nearly jumped as she turned to the source.

"Is everything alright, Emmy?" Layton asked.

His face was tucked into a small worried frown, as he sensed some sort of unease from her.

"Eh? Hah, don't worry, I'm fine. It's just… From what I heard of Froenburg, apparently the place is supposed to be a snowy white wonderland. I just hope I packed warm enough clothes."

He seemed to register it as a satisfactory answer and gave her a comforting smile.

"If it does get too cold, I'd be happy to lend you an extra coat I packed. Also, I'm sure could make some tea that might warm you up later."

She mustered a smile in return. "Thanks, professor. I might take you up on the offer."

The rest of the ride was quiet, save for Raymond briefing them on the mummy's location as well some of Sycamore's most recent finds.

Upon landing, Luke was the very first to set out on his journey outside. At first, all seemed well as he trotted down the stairs. However, the last step was certainly a doozy. He fell in the deep snow with a deafened "plop", leaving only his blue cap on the very surface.

Emmy chased him out the door before reaching the end of the stairs. "Luke! Luke where'd you—Oh."

Just behind her was a concerned Raymond. "Ah, wait you two, Sycamore said there would be about seven feet of snow!"

She raised an eyebrow and pointed her thumb towards the deep slush. "A little late on the forecast."

The woman bounded down and began digging around in the snow feverishly for her little friend. There he lied, shivering and hugging his legs close together for warmth. Tsking at him, she scooped him up into her arms and began carrying him inside. She almost burst out laughing at his antics, but she spared him of the embarrassment.

"You should know better than to run out there without being properly dressed for it."

Luke grimaced in response. "I didn't know there'd be _that_ much out there!"

She walked past a worried professor to which she answered, "Don't worry, he just needs warmer clothes."

Finding a heavier jacket was a difficult task with how unorganized he packed. He had no undergarments to suit the warm weather either (neither did she, but she could stand the elements far more). Once she was able to find a dry coat and an extra shirt, she was immediately shooed out of the guest room for him to change.

She raised her arms up in mock defeat upon walking out. "Don't blame me for you nearly catching your death out there!"

"I said I was _fine_! Sheesh!" The door quickly shut behind her.

"Oh dear. If what Raymond said was true, the town had recently suffered a snowstorm," Hershel called out from the control room.

When Emmy had walked back, she found him sitting on a plush couch in the center of the room, writing down in what was presumably his journal. He looked up to her with an embarrassed smile.

"Thank you for taking the time to go through Luke's things and finding more fitting clothing."

"No problem at all! If the apprentice number one is anything like his mentor, his organization skills could use some improvement," she smirked upon seeing him shyly looking away from that remark.

"I…we'll endeavor to improve upon that."

"I would hope so. You don't want to be a bad influence, now do you?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Certainly not."

The trio were finally out the door again after placing on more durable clothing for the cold. Raymond helped them out of the airship by shoveling some of the snow to avoid any further incident. Thankfully, their journey into town was far more forgiving, as the snow there was foot level. As such, the townsfolk seemed unbothered despite the rough weather they've had the day prior. There was one person however that was suffering a similar fate to Luke.

He stood in the snow, clutching his pink vest and audibly shuddering. In all the parts of the world to be, never did they think they'd find their mustached friend, Aldus in such a remote tourist spot. As soon as he saw them, he waved at them to come closer.

"And lo! In these frosty snow-piled peaks, we meet again, my friends," his mustache perked up. "Fate has seen fit to send you here to warm my heart and ears and ease my shivers."

Layton seemed somewhat surprised. "Ah yes. You are—"

"I am indeed! How pleasing is it to see you in good health. I never dreamt of meeting you here!"

 _To be quite honest, neither did we. I'm starting to think these run-ins aren't coincidences_ , Emmy wanted to say.

Aldus wavered in place. "No, my dreams were of shining silvers, and ivory whites, but I must confess…"

"The cold!" he burst out. "It is t-too much. It has triumphed over me. Woe, my friend! It… Brrrrr! It seems I am unsuitably attired!"

"That is… most unfortunate. Perhaps you had better try to keep warm indoors."

"Your wise words prove that you are not just a pretty hat, and I shall heed them gladly!"

"Before you do, I must ask, have you seen a professor pass by?"

"Another of the archaeological variety? Why yes! A bespectacled man strolled in these snowy parts not too long ago! I think he went by the name of 'Sick-a-more'?"

Emmy caught her laugh by her throat before responding. "Ah, y-yeah. Snnk! Him. Have you seen which way he went?"

"Puzzled as all puzzled gentleman can be. As soon as I saw the man, he disappeared into the snowy blue. Someone else might have seen him, much like those fellows dressed in black. Erm, if they're friendly."

That statement incited some fear within Emmy. That sounded like Targent's troops were around, something she wasn't expecting so soon until they've at least located Sycamore. From what she could tell, Bronev's patience wore quite thin. Though she supposed it was because there was only the matter of the mummy and these supposed databanks before unlocking the secrets of the Azran.

"Thanks so much for the information. As well as that little hint coin hunt to brush up on our skills."

Emmy blinked for a moment. She had spaced out while Aldus was going about his usual business.

"But of c-course! Now before I crystalize into a shivering stalactite, I b-bid you adieu!" He waved to them before rushing off to take cover from the cold.

Shortly after their meeting, they asked around town for others who may know of Sycamore's whereabouts. One girl by the name of Prima had about the same amount of information Aldus had. ("Oh that man with the retro hairstyle! I'm sorry, I have no idea… Do look out though, there's some suspicious men around!") The group proceeded into the next area of town, where the men of hour had made their appearance.

There was hardly room for doubt. The two were of varying heights, both dressed in dark blue jackets that were quite similar to Emmy's own. Those were indeed Targent agents. The faces were familiar, certainly, but she couldn't remember if she had even spoken to them before. They must have been newer recruits of a different sector. What were their codenames…? Something to do with chess?

The shorter and rounder of the men was stomping his foot in frustration. "Argh, rats! Why does everything here have to be frozen solid?"

"We're in Froenborg. What did you expect?" the taller and thinner one responded.

Bishop. That was the shorter one's codename. "Yeah, but come on. A huge wall of ice? It's not natural, I tell you. I should have been able to chip it at least, but… Ow!"

Rook? The taller one seemed like he was Rook. "Well, if fire didn't have any effect on it, I'd hardly expect brute force to."

Rook shrugged off Bishop's tantrum and pushed up his shades. "Anyway, whatever happens, we're not leaving here until we captured the target, so we'd better suck it up. Get your skates on, Bishop. Let's see if we can find another way in."

"I'm on it!" Bishop chirped. The two took off shortly thereafter.

The professor and Luke looked at each other.

"Do you suppose those two are them?" Layton pondered.

Luke nodded. "They must be!"

Nothing, save a few extra wrinkles in his brow showed on the professor's face. "Hm. This trip may not go as smoothly as I had hoped. Living mummy or not, I fear Professor Sycamore has uncovered something extremely dangerous…"

—

One man, a bearded one by the name of Harald, had seen Sycamore. He apparently disappeared into a cave far north and had not been seen since. It seemed as if Rook and Bishop had been seen lurking around that area as well. It left the poor man in worry most of the day, the feeling contagious to the trio. They could only hope that he was well.

The climb to where the cave was supposedly located was somewhat of a task in the deep snow. Once they reached the entrance on the other hand…

"Hey, I think this is it! This must be the cave. But… it's frozen solid!" Luke trotted up to the iced up cave.

Layton inspected its surface and confirmed with a nod. "This almost seems impenetrable through normal means… I can't find any cracks or weak spots."

The biting cold seeped past the spare coat Luke had, causing him to shiver and curl his scarf over his neck. They weren't dressed to stay out for long, so it was best that they find some way in before they got sick. The child had thought of an idea within that instant and turned to Emmy. She caught his eyes and raised an eyebrow in response, seeming to understand him.

"I'm sure we can break through it! If there's anyone that's good at that, it'd be you Emmy!"

Cracking her knuckles, she walked up to the entrance and readied her stance. "I'm on it."

"Be careful," Layton warned as he stood to the side.

She nodded her acknowledgement and steadied her breaths. In a flash, she gave the wall a clean roundhouse kick. There was a silenced thud, a small rumble, and then finally snow from the very top of the cave fell in large chunks over an unsuspecting Emmy. Before she could dodge or yell, she was completely covered in an instant. Both startled, Layton and Luke rushed over to the snow pile to help her.

Emmy climbed out, dusting the cold powder from her hair and shoulders. She supposed this was cosmic payback for poking fun at Luke's mistake. Swarmed with questions from her concerned friends, she brushed them off with a wave.

"Well, that just happened… Will you two calm down? I'm fine!"

She supposed she felt happy in knowing how much they cared for her at least. The woman was not going to be let off that easily. Despite her protests, she was given Layton's coat to wear as well as Luke's earmuffs. She felt smothered, but it wasn't necessarily bad to her. Emmy sighed and pulled the coat close. If they were going to sacrifice some warmth, she had better make the most of it.

"I did say it was impenetrable through normal means..." Layton rubbed the back of his head.

"But Emmy's anything but normal—in strength anyway!" Luke quickly corrected himself to avoid her glare.

She shrugged her shoulders dismissively. "Sorry to disappoint."

"I didn't mean it like that, really!"

Layton interjected, "Alright now. Let's bring our focus back to the matter at hand. If we can't break through this, there must be some other way to get past this obstacle. Perhaps we should look around."

The only other thing that was in the area was a lone snowman. With a smile, a tophat, and a scarf, it stood tall despite the winds that blew in the mountainous area. There was something that seemed off about it, but what…?

Emmy stepped up to it and began inspecting it. "Aw, it's a snowman! Now what could you be doing all the way out here? And with a missing mitten no less!"

Luke pulled his cap back to scratch his head. "Better question is 'Who would make a snowman when the weather was horrible till today?'"

There was nothing else to note, but they had a hunch that there may be a connection between the snowman and the frozen entrance. So the group had decided to go back to town. There, they had noticed that the town was somewhat livelier now that more people had left their homes. Prima, the girl they had met earlier, was now joined by her friend Donna. The two looked somewhat shocked when they noticed the group.

"Goodness! What happened to you all? You look positively chilled to the bone!" the redhead called out.

The blonde haired girl, Donna replied, "My bet's on the 'lost and weren't properly dressed' option."

After a moment, Prima covered her mouth. "You're the professor I met earlier!"

"I didn't know you were friends with the academic type," Donna teased.

"W-Well, he just came by earlier to ask questions and solve a puzzle—wait! This isn't the time to dawdle! They're soaking wet and they look about ready to freeze over!"

Layton raised a hand. "We'll be fine. More importantly, we need a bit of information about a snowman that was up north near the caves."

"Snowman?"

The girls looked at each other. Donna folded her arms. "Yeah, we haven't been up there recently and I can't remember a time someone even made a snowman there. We just got over a _bad_ blizzard."

"But maybe Mascha would know. She knows about pretty much everything that goes on around here. And she's the owner of a hotel where there's a hot springs!"

They didn't get much word in edgewise, as the two of them ushered the group across the snow-fallen town to their destination.


End file.
